Lesson Funding your account

Pre-authorized deposits (PADs)

Learn about how to set up a PAD, our most popular funding method for USD and recurring deposits to your Questrade account.

This article is for our new platform layout and may not reflect your experience.

For those with the previous platform layout, please see the legacy version of this article for help.

We appreciate your understanding as we transition to the new system.

Pre-Authorized Deposits (PADs) are another method to electronically fund your account at Questrade.

They can be used with both CAD and USD but are more frequently used to fund with USD due to online banking limitations with USD deposits.

Setting up a PAD

To set up a new PAD follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Questrade Account
  2. In the top navigation bar, head over to the select Deposit under the Move money page.
Funding tab PADs
  1. Select Pre-authorized deposit to start adding in your details.
CP Pad selection
  1. From here, you can add your banking information and choose which Questrade account you would like to link your PAD to. Additionally, you can add the amount, frequency, and the start/end date of your deposit.
CP New accounts completion
  1. If you haven’t done so, you can add your bank account by clicking + Add a bank account.
    • If your bank is not listed when adding your bank, select “set up manually.” You’ll have to provide a Void Cheque or Direct Deposit form, which can be provided by your financial institution.  To learn where to upload these forms you can read our article here.

Note: CAD accounts are only able to be linked electronically. Void cheques are no longer accepted.


Alternatively, check out the short video below for a quick overview of how to set up a PAD.

Manual PADs

Manual PADs are only available for U.S. Dollar accounts, CAD accounts need to be linked electronically.

When completing a manual PAD setup, you’ll need to provide the following information:

  1. Your banking information (transit #, branch #, account #)
  2. A direct deposit form or a void cheque where the name matches your Questrade account exactly
  3. The signed and completed PAD agreement

Tip: To prevent any delays with your PAD, these should be uploaded the same day the PAD is created.

If you set up a recurring PAD but have not provided both the PAD agreement and void cheque/direct deposit form by the start date, the first deposit will not be made. Future scheduled deposits will begin on the next payment date. For one time PADs they will be cancelled and a new one will need to be made.

Missed payments cannot be re-made and you will have to create a one-time PAD for the same amount if you do not want to wait for the next payment period.

Please note that Pre-Authorized Deposits over the $10,000 CAD daily threshold will take up to 4-7 business days to process, whereas deposits under $10,000 CAD will take 3-4 business days to deposit.

Review your PADs

To review all historic PADs you can follow these steps:

  • In the top navigation bar, select Reports and, from the drop-down menu, select Account Activity
  • You will be able to see all your accounts activity, but to review your PADs, Deselect all and select deposits to just show your historic PADs

Updating/Cancelling a PAD

On your Questrade account under Funding > Pre-authorized deposit > Request history you can review, suspend, or cancel PADs.

In this section you can:

  • Temporarily suspend any active PADs until further notice
  • Re-activate any suspended PADs
  • Cancel any pending approval PADs
  • Cancel any active PADs

Note: The information in this blog is for educational purposes only and should not be used or construed as financial or investment advice by any individual. Information obtained from third parties is believed to be reliable, but no representations or warranty, expressed or implied, is made by Questrade, Inc., its affiliates or any other person to its accuracy.

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